6th Circuit Denies En Banc Rehearing In Faith-Based Funding Case

The Louisville (KY) Courier-Journal reports that the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied an en banc rehearing in Pedreira v. Kentucky Baptist Homes For Children, Inc. In August, a 3-judge panel of the 6th Circuit held that plaintiffs have standing as state taxpayers to maintain an Establishment Clause challenge to the $100 million of state funds paid to KBHC to care for children. (See prior posting.) KBHC says it plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. A KBHC spokesman added: "The ironic thing about this kind of taxpayer suit is that if the plaintiff prevailed in barring faith-based providers from providing these services, where the funding is subsidized by private donations, it would end up costing the taxpayers more."